“I know the [Albanian] prime minister … I know everybody … I know them very well, I’ve got their mobile phone numbers, so they know this is a serious investment in this country, don’t screw it up because you’ve got henchmen trying to take a cut.”

As if to prove his credentials, he took out his phone and said, “I’ll text the mayor right now. And I open with, 'Right, so, Basha [Lulzim Basha, mayor of Tirana] … Are you looking for new hotels investment in 2014?’

“I’ll put medium size,” he added with a nod.

Mark Pritchard met an undercover reporter posing as a potential investor in Malta and promised access to 'the great and the good’ of his global contacts

The man setting out the investment opportunity was not a well known international fixer, but rather the backbench Conservative MP for a rural area of Shropshire who has used his parliamentary connections to build up an impressive network of contacts, which he was keen to share with paying customers.

But, unbeknown to the jet-setting 46-year-old MP, the “investors” were actually undercover reporters investigating allegations from political sources that he was using his position as an MP to make money.

The Savoy meeting in late September was one of several that took place at five-star locations around London, ranging from the Dorchester hotel to the Carlton Club, the gentleman’s club for Conservatives.

During the five-month investigation, Mr Pritchard twice boasted that he had visited 86 countries and suggested meeting in locations ranging from Budapest in Hungary to the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean.

The investigation also gave a unique insight into the lifestyle of the MP, who spent many evenings moving from one reception or party to another, often with a new “partner” in tow.

The Telegraph began investigating Mr Pritchard in July after well-placed sources raised concerns that there was an overlap between his business and political interests. To establish whether the allegations were accurate, an undercover reporter posed as a representative of an Indian private equity company looking to expand his business in Europe.

The reporter approached Mr Pritchard in Malta in late July when he was on an official parliamentary trip to the country’s new government.

After a brief discussion, the reporter asked if he had a business card. Mr Pritchard said that he did not have a parliamentary card, so instead gave his consultancy details.

“Send me an email because, you know, I run a couple of businesses outside Parliament. If I can help… be… have an effect”, he said.

In September, the reporter met Mr Pritchard in London to discuss the possibility of the MP working for the company as a consultant. Mr Pritchard suggested three business opportunities to the businessman: a boutique hotel in Albania and two other hotel developments in Montenegro and Hungary. Mr Pritchard is currently on the Commons’ all party parliamentary group (APPG) for Albania and Hungary and was the vice-chairman of the Montenegro group until 2010 when the committee failed to renew its membership and disbanded.

During the meeting at the Savoy hotel in late September, the MP discussed organising a trip to Albania to prepare for the investment.

“The way I could do it is the one on Thursday morning. It’s a three-hour flight so we’d be there at meetings Thursday, Friday; we’d be at a party on the Saturday, come back Sunday,” Mr Pritchard said.

He began to explain his interest in the eastern European country.

“I was involved getting BA [British Airways] to fly there. ’Cause I was chairman of the Albania… Albania committee for years”, he said. He was referring to the APPG. Such groups are proving increasingly controversial because of their apparent interactions with lobbyists and private business.

Mr Pritchard said he was in regular contact with the Albanian government.

“We could meet the great and the good. We’ll meet the prime minister, blah, blah; we’ll meet the whole lot. I’ll just say you’re looking to potentially invest in a country,” he suggested.

“This is always difficult, if I go to Albania I have to meet everybody,” he added.

However, at this point, Mr Pritchard was quick to point out, when asked, that he would be travelling — on this occasion — in a “private” capacity, courtesy of the paying client.

The following evening, the pair met for dinner at a restaurant in Soho. The reporter asked about Mr Pritchard’s trip to Malta, another country he represents on a APPG.

The MP explained that he had meetings with the parliamentary speaker there, and the prime minister.

The reporter asked about investment opportunities in the country.

“Well, I’ve got to be careful what I say here, because obviously I know everybody there,” replied Mr Pritchard.

“We’d need to have another discussion about that … There are some, there are some opportunities but … I think they’re slightly confused about what they want. ’Cause the other day they said, 'We need infrastructure investment’.”

Asked if he was referring to the government, the MP replied: “Yeah. So I said, 'Do you need some shopping malls? Do you need shopping malls?’ No. 'Do you need new roads?’ No. There’s a very big land reclamation thing going on out there at the moment so to basically reclaim land, a bit like in Hong Kong.”

Mr Pritchard concluded that it was best for the investor to “stay away” because “there are better places to make money more quickly”.

As the meetings and exchanges continued, by the beginning of last month, the MP emailed the reporter about the cost of employing his services.

“If you did want to do something formally, I can send you my typical contract from my advisory company”, he wrote.

“I am usually called an “international adviser”. I am paid a monthly retainer. There is a two-month notice period on both sides. My annual fee would be £3,000.00 per month, plus reasonable expenses.

“Please let me know.”

The reporter responded by saying the figures seemed reasonable.

Soon afterwards, they met in the Carlton Club in Pall Mall, near Green Park.

As they sat in the club’s lounge, Mr Pritchard set out the two business opportunities he thought would be most suitable for the investor: Albania and Montenegro.

But his fees had increased.

Now, on top of the £3,000 a month, he was asking for 3 per cent of any business deal he brokered.

“As far as I’m concerned my involvement would be an advisory role. It wouldn’t be lobbying; I don’t lobby. I don’t, whatever. But my network I will use”, he said.

Mr Pritchard is facing the prospect of a parliamentary investigation into the “use” of the network he had built up as an MP.

Mr Pritchard said that he had "acted entirely properly, consistent with the letter and spirit of the MPs' Code of Conduct" and did not "accept that my business interests conflict with my parliamentary duties".

Mr Pritchard said that "meetings with friends and business contacts" were in his own time when he travelled on Parliamentary trips and that "many of my European and Balkans friends were made before I entered Parliament".

He said that he did not give the fictional company "any information that I had obtained in the course of my Parliamentary duties but only that obtained through my historic and existing knowledge and networks".

The rules: Code of conduct demands selflessness and integrity

MPs are bound by the Code of Conduct, which sets out the parliamentary rules and regulations.

Some of the rules relate to the register of interests, which must include any interests that are relevant to an MP’s activities.

However, the code also enshrines the “general principles of conduct”, including selflessness, integrity and objectivity.

The rules are wide-ranging, although they have been criticised in the past for lacking clarity. They warn that information received in confidence in the course of a member’s parliamentary duties “should be used only in connection with those duties”.

“Such information must never be used for the purpose of financial gain,” states the code. “Members shall base their conduct on a consideration of the public interest, avoid conflict between personal interest and the public interest and resolve any conflict between the two, at once, and in favour of the public interest,” it adds. The rules also emphasise that the “use of public resources is always in support of their parliamentary duties”.

When MPs are accused of breaching the code, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards investigates.

The watchdog has attracted criticism in the past because of the length of the investigations.

Kathryn Hudson, a former executive director of social services for Newham council, currently holds the position.

In more serious cases, after Mrs Hudson finishes her report, it is passed to a committee of MPs.

The committee can recommend a range of penalties from fines to suspending an MP from the House of Commons. ÞThe Government’s lobbying Bill has been paused for six weeks after dozens of charities expressed fears it would “muzzle” debate. The Bill, which was due to be scrutinised by the Lords later this week, is an effort to regulate the lobbying industry following allegations about the influence of lobbyists on government decision-making.